Spicy Grilled Chicken Tortilla Soup

This soup turned out absolutely great. It had kick, some coolness from the pico de gallo and sour cream, and great smokey flavor from the grilled chicken.

 

The original recipe came from Patio Daddio's blog, one of the best grilling-related blogs out there. The original recipe calls for making your own vegetable stock, which I did, but if you don't have the time you can substitute pre-made stock.

Makes: 6-8 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 large grilled chicken breasts, chopped
• Vegetable broth (see below or use 2 quarts of pre-made)
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon (or lots more) Mexican-style hot sauce
• 2 cans (10 ounces) Ro*Tel diced tomatoes and chiles (mild or hot)
• 1 can (15 ounce) black beans, rinsed (I used dried beans, soaked and then cooked and rinsed)
• 1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
• Corn tortilla strips (see below)
• sour cream
• pico de gallo (see below)

1. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large Dutch oven or pot.

2. Add in the chicken, garlic, and hot sauce and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often.

3. Add in the canned tomatoes, black beans, corn and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Serve topped with sour cream, tortilla strips and pico de gallo.

For the vegetable broth:

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

• 10 cups water
• 1 small yellow onion, rough chopped
• 1 carrot, rough chopped
• 2 stalks celery, rough chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon fresh cracked peppercorns

1. Place all ingredients into a large pot. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 2 hours. Strain.

For the corn tortilla strips:

Ingredients:

• 8 corn tortillas
• Oil, for frying
• Kosher salt

1. Heat about 2" of oil in a Dutch oven or deep fryer to 350 F.

2. Cut tortillas into 1/2" strips. Working in batches, fry strips until golden brown. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate and sprinkle with salt.

For the pico de gallo:

Makes: 2 cups
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, minced
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Combine all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes before using.